Breaking Free
by Evelyn Call
Summary: What if Kakashi had children that disappeared, but no one knew? After twelve years he's finally asking his friends for help to find them! What does it have to do with Gaara and his siblings? Follow our beloved characters on this journey of new love, a growing family, and a fight to end an evil that should have been stopped long ago. PLEASE R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**Breaking Free**

A loud BANG erupted through the office as the door was roughly swung open by a rather irate, blonde haired Kunoichi. The wind from the force of the door caused all the papers on the Kazekage's desk to be cast across the floor- most likely _not _in the alphabetical order Gaara had spent the last few hours organizing them in. Trying his best to keep his temper with his sister he merely grunted, his chair squeaking across the hardwood floor as he calmly stood to walk around his desk.

Temari continued to fume impatiently; clearly trying to force her younger brother to ask her what was wrong- only he wasn't falling for it. Instead, he slowly walked around the room collecting his once orderly files from the floor. She tried clearing her throat and tapping her shoes, but to no avail.

Gaara paused for effect in front of his sister, glaring into her blue orbs before bending down to pull the last sheet of paper from under her foot. It wasn't until after the papers had been shuffled back into a neat pile and he had gracefully lowered himself into his chair that he leaned back, folded his hands together and addressed his sister. "What is it _now_, Temari?"

"What is it?" She repeated mockingly. "I'll tell you what it is!"

"Please do," The Kazekage sighed impatiently. "Sometime _before_ I wrinkle."

"Our darling brother decided that it would be _funny _to read one of my diary entries- _rip_ it out- and send it to Shikamaru Nara!" She gripped her hips tightly, her anger getting worse as she repeated the offence out loud.

The red head bit his cheeks to stop himself from smiling in approval of his brother's immature actions. They had both been discussing their sister's crush on the Nara man for the last year and a half. Secretly Gaara hoped that the man would confess his feelings to her already so he could marry her off and she would pack her bags and leave- never again to rearrange the paperwork on his desk.

"Temari," Gaara began carefully. "I don't suppose that you would consider seeing the bright side to all of this?"

"Bright side...?" She glared, daring him to suggest it further.

"Yes," He chuckled, a light feeling in his chest he was beginning to get used to. "Perhaps now the two of you- Nara and yourself I mean- can move on from denial and–

"Denial of what?!" Temari stomped her foot. "Our unconditional love for one another?"

"Well, yes..."

"NO! I wasn't ready for him to know yet!" She threw her hands up in defeat. "I wanted to _at least_ tell him in person, not let him read a stupid diary page..."

"So if you admit to loving him, then-

Gaara started but was cut off by a slight knocking on the door frame leading into the office. Temari swung around and stepped to the side, allowing the Kazekage to see who was interrupting- only to see the object of her anger.

"What is it, Kankuro?" Gaara raised an eyebrow, surprised to see that his brother's usually happy face was replaced with a rather pale, indifferent one.

"Lord Kazekage," He nodded formally. "We have a caravan that just arrived- selling slaves. The head Driver wishes to make you an offer."

The red head straightened his back and cleared his throat, "Suna is not involved with slave dealings, now or ever."

"Hai, that's what I informed him of also, but he insists on the chance to change your mind."

"Hn," Gaara shook his head. How many times will he turn those bastards away? "Alright, send him in; tell him he has ten minutes then I never want to see his face in our village again."

"Of course," Kankuro bowed and swiftly left the room.

Gaara sighed, finally understanding his older brother's behaviour as he had entered the room a moment ago. It's been ten years since the village had been raided by a new breed of thieves. Many of Suna's children were taken from their beds that night- all between the ages of four and ten- and among them were one of Kankuro's closest childhood friends. They had been in diapers together; classes together... and they had planned on becoming shinobi together. Suna was left with no trail to follow, no evidence to investigate, and more than twenty broken families that demanded answers.

Kankuro was not the only one who lost a friend that night, however. He had managed to make and lose a friend in the same night. Gaara convinced himself many times that perhaps she was only a dream, and she never truly existed. But he never dreamed back then, he would have had to sleep for that to happen. Not only that; but the memory of a dream is supposed to fade over time, usually completely after a single day, but not this dream. No, Gaara shook his head to himself, this he remembers like it was only yesterday...

_**Flashback**_

_An eerie creak echoed through Suna, as he swung back and forth on the lone swing his father had had built for him a few weeks prior. Not much else kept him occupied while everyone else in the village was sleeping- he wished he could sleep too. No, Father says; Gaara remembered haughtily, "The demon will gain control if you sleep."_

_All the other six year olds were probably curled up in their warm beds, dreaming pretty things while he was forced to sit alone, waiting for the sun to come up again. If only he was normal-_

"_Why are you out here all alone?"_

_Gaara leapt off the swing in surprise, spinning on his heels to face the voice that had interrupted his thoughts. He came nearly nose to nose with a girl about his size. Shocked by her closeness he stumbled back, gripping his teddy close to his chest. While she giggled at his silly reaction, Gaara took the moment to more closely inspect her; she had long brown hair and green eyes. Her clothes were ragged and rather dirty- but not from sand like he would have suspected, but dirt. Like the kind that trees and grass grow from. And even more strange, she wore no shoes._

"_Well," She tilted her head and smiled. "Aren't you going to tell me your name?"_

"_Gaara," He turned his head away, not wanting to watch as she ran away when she realized who he was._

"_You don't look like a 'Gaara' to me," she shrugged. "No matter, I'll just call you something else."_

_He looked up in surprise, who was this girl? Doesn't she know what I am?_

"_I know," she giggled again. "I'll call you Kenai!"_

"_Kenai?"_

"_Key-nye."_

"_Oh... why?"_

_"Well, it's better than 'Demon' isn't it?"She smiled even wider and skipped up to get a closer look at him. When Gaara nodded she reached out her hand, "My name is Hikari."_

_ Gaara looked around unsure, the last time he tried to touch someone their parents came running and told him to stay away._

_ "Well? Aren't you going to be my friend?"_

_ "I've never had a friend," Gaara shook his head. "I don't know how."_

_ "It's easy," Hikari explained. "You just shake my hand."_

_ "That's it?"_

_ "That's how I watched my Dad do it!" She nodded. "So it has to be right."_

_ "Oh..." Gaara felt silly, of course she would know better than he would. So he reached out and took her hand firmly in his own. Even now, he was surprised to notice how much bigger his hand was than hers. Suddenly Gaara was yanked forward and his breath caught in his throat as Hikari's arms wrapped around him, embracing him in his first hug. He was frozen in his place as Hikari whispered in his ear briefly before letting go and running away._

_ As he watched her small form disappear into the darkness he remained still. More confused than ever, Gaara calmly turned and climbed back into his swing to think about Hikari's last words. He didn't yet realize that he would never forget them: __**"One day, **_**you**_** will save me."**_

_**End Flashback**_

The sound of Temari calling his name brought Gaara back to the present. When his eyes regained focus and his ears reopened to the sounds in the room he readjusted himself in his chair; the sound of approaching feet echoed down the hall. As a shinobi, he was trained to know what to expect from these sounds alone; his instincts were telling him that there were four people. One was, of course, Kankuro, the other was rather large and heavy on his feet- probably not very agile, easy to kill if need be. There was a smaller figure shuffling their feet, no doubt the female slave the Head Driver planned to change his mind with and lastly, Gaara assumed was one of the hired, less skilled ninja he had guarding his caravan.

The Kazekage's face remained stoic as the three unwanted guests entered, he gave a quick nod to his brother, giving him permission to leave- the last thing Gaara needed was to have Kankuro lose his cool and behead them all.

"Lord Kazekage," The Head Driver bowed with an air of confidence. His bald head was covered by a dirty bandana; the place where a metal plate marking his home village used to be was cleaner than the rest, causing Gaara to tense even more. Shinobi were supposed to be honourable, what happened to all the oaths he took? "I thank you for the chance to gain you a servant."

"Hn," Gaara grunted again, not trusting himself to form respectful words. He waved his hand for the man to continue, while he got a better look at the assistant with him and the slave girl.

"My name is Hoshi," the man introduced himself with pride, and extended his arm to address the others. "This is one of my shinobi, Sansa, and the slave I've come to offer you."

It was difficult enough for the Kazekage to be aware of such foul treatment to slaves outside of his village, but to witness it was another story. The girl was filthy- at least that's what he could tell from her pathetic excuse for clothes. Her head had been covered with a burlap bag, to keep her from knowing where to find her escape. She trembled slightly, although Gaara doubted it was out of fear, but rather out of dehydration and malnourishment. After taking notice of her lack of shoes, he forced himself to look away and instead make eye contact with Hoshi.

"I've turned you down twice before," Gaara glared slightly. "Why would you insist on returning a third time?"

"Your Father was a customer of mine at one time Lord Kazekage," Hoshi smirked when Gaara slightly flinched. "I had hoped to keep Suna among the few left who still find slavery legal."

"I see," Gaara cleared his throat and glanced at the clock. "You have five minutes left."

Hoshi's eyebrows rose in surprise, he had figured that with the mention of his own father's slave dealings that perhaps he would follow suit. Perhaps he had misjudged the boy's feelings toward his parentage. "Of course, well the last time I was here I was under the assumption that you were more interested in more man power, I have returned with a different proposition for you."

When Gaara remained silent and seemingly uninterested, Hoshi cleared his throat and continued- this time with less confidence. "I have a woman here," He reached out and pulled the sac from her head, revealing long brown hair and a muddy complexion. The Kazekage narrowed his eyes slightly, feeling like he knew her from somewhere, but he did not interrupt. "She's soon to be eighteen, and has not been bed yet- a jewel among slaves."

Without saying a word, Gaara rose from his seat and manoeuvred around his desk to approach the shivering girl in the centre of his office. Her eyes were clenched shut and her breathing laboured, but there was something he needed to know.

"I forbid her to look upon you without your permission," Hoshi stated proudly. "If you choose to turn down the offer you need not worry about her recogniz-

"Quiet." Gaara glared at the pathetic man before returning his attention to the slave. He stopped roughly a foot away and titled his head to get a better look at her features, it was hard to see her when her face was turned towards the floor. "Open your eyes... please."

Temari's mouth dropped open in surprise, normally Gaara wouldn't give these people the time of day, yet here he was, acting as if he was actually thinking about making a purchase from these imbeciles.

The slave girl slowly sucked in some air and swallowed, before she complied with Gaara's request. The moment her eyes opened Gaara knew who she was- and she knew him too, he was sure of it. The recognition leapt from her eyes like shuriken and pierced his soul, cracking the hard shell Gaara had built around his heart as a child. Forcing himself to break contact with her, he turned away to walk back to his desk. He remained silent as he contemplated how to proceed- he could order the man arrested, surely this was the same man that had raided the beds of Suna that night all those years ago? But perhaps not, maybe he had simply purchased the girl after that night; he would need to find out.

"How much?" Gaara turned back to face Hoshi and leaned casually against his desk. He wanted to appear as relaxed about the deal he was about to make as possible.

The Driver's face lit up when he heard the Kazekage's interest in the girl, almost too surprised to answer; he had been sure only a moment ago that he would fail again to gain a buyer. "Well, since she is virginal she would normally sell for twice the price of a girl her age and beauty- but for you I can make a deal."

"And what deal is that?"

"Gaara you can't seriously be considering this?!" Temari finally spoke up from the corner of the room.

"Silence," Gaara's words were harsh causing his sister to flinch, but he tried his best to reassure her visually. "I am Kazekage and _I_ make the decisions."

When Temari's eyes widened slightly in realization, Gaara turned his attention back to Hoshi- he would have time to explain to his sister after.

"If I have your approval to return to village in the future," Hoshi smirked. "I can let you have this one for five thousand yen."

"Hn," Gaara faked his scepticism. "How do I know that her quality is worth that amount? Are you her original owner or did you purchase her from another caravan?"

"I received her from a close friend, Lord Kazekage." Hoshi bowed, showing his bare neck. Many Lords know this as a promise of the truth, or he offers his life in exchange if found guilty of lying.

Slightly disappointed Gaara once again returned behind his desk, but this time to reach into a drawer to retrieve the villages check book. Once he signs for an amount, he would send Hoshi downstairs to have Matsuri count the amount into a bag and hand it to the Driver. "You may remove her bindings," Gaara stated plainly as his pen scratched across the paper. "I will have her washed up- it would look beneath me to have her looking like that."

"Of course," Hoshi clapped his hand on the back of his hired hand, motioning him to do as the Kazekage asked.

Temari stepped forward to take the slip of paper from her brother's outstretched hand and gave it to the Driver, "That will be all for today, the Kazekage has other work to attend to."

"Again," Hoshi bowed. "I thank you for your time, Lord Kazekage. I will soon return- I have another proposition for you, but he has not completed his training."

Gaara did not address the man this time, but simply stared into the eyes of his purchase without expression until Temari had ushered him out and shut the door. Not a second later, the silence was broken by a soft sob.

The frail girl hugged herself and continued to shake uncontrollably. Gaara swiftly returned to her side, and this time, he took her into _his_ arms and held her. Even when her knees buckled, he did not release his grip; he only squeezed her tighter. He let her cry without saying anything. What was he to say to a girl who had perhaps lived through more horrors than even himself?

"Gaara," Temari reluctantly interrupted. She moved to stand beside her brother and looked into his eyes, "Who is this?"

Gaara took in a weak breath, almost afraid that if he made any sudden movements he would wake up to find that this too was all a dream. "This... is _Hikari_."

* * *

A barely conscious man sat up in his bed, his eyelids drooped and his shoulders sagged; he looked like a prisoner of his own house- one couldn't even call it a _home_ anymore. The curtain fabric was so thick that the sun's rays couldn't enter the room. It allowed its captive to sleep in without a care for anything; not the time, and not the training...

Kakashi sighed heavily- the _training_! He forcefully pushed himself from the bed and went for a clean pair of clothes. There was no doubt in his mind that Sakura would scold him for the umpteenth time. Something about the importance of being punctual; he barely listened to her when she was complaining.

After his clothes were on and his headband tied securely around his sharingan eye he made his way through the house. He passed two doors in the hall that sat across from one another- they have remained closed for the past twelve years. Kakashi has continued to hope that one day that will change, but hope seems scarcer every time he walks down the hall.

Before stepping out his front door he reached across the kitchen table to grab his 'Icha Icha' book in order to hide his face behind its pages as usual. What most people- except for Asuma- didn't know is that he barely ever _read_ the books. He was actually thinking most of the time, and simply using the book to hide whatever his mask couldn't. After he entered the street he pulled up his mask and buried all his emotions inside where no one could see them, at least, almost no one...

"Kakashi-senpai," A man appeared beside him and kept pace with the casual walk.

Kakashi sighed but lowered the book. He didn't like to have his thoughts interrupted, but Asuma knew that; so he figured that there was something that needed to be said. "Did Lady Tsunade summon for me?"

Asuma frowned, "No."

Kakashi looked at his friend and stopped. He knew that look well; the 'you-seriously-need-to-listen-to-what-I-have-to-sa y' look.

"Kakashi," Asuma took in a sharp breath. "You really should tell the Hokage."

"What about, Asuma?" Kakashi rolled his eyes and continued on his way to the training grounds.

Asuma ignored the eye roll from his fellow shinobi and followed suit. "If she knew about them, maybe she could assign your team a mission-."

"What mission?" Kakashi let out a low growl in annoyance. He knew exactly where this was going- it somehow found its way into their conversations regularly.

"A _search_ mission, of course, Kakashi!" Asuma tossed his hands up in impatience. "The way you go about this, you would think-."

"You would think what?" Kakashi glared threateningly with his one eye.

"That you didn't _want_ to find them…"

Kakashi stopped again, but instead of getting angry he looked to his feet. "I want nothing else_ but_ to have them back."

"Then why aren't you looking?" Asuma knew that he was walking on thin ice on this subject, but he had spent all of last night planning it out carefully.

"I guess I was afraid that I _would_ find them," Kakashi looked up. "But they wouldn't be alive."

"And just not knowing is better?"

"Yes," Kakashi turned to look his best friend in the eye. "At least this way I can still _hope._"

Asuma's eyes softened and he ran a hand through his black, un-kept hair. "How old would they be now…?"

The copy Nin looked back at the ground, "Eighteen in April, why?"

"Don't you think- if they're still out there somewhere- they will be wondering why you haven't been looking for them?"

"I have thought about that for the last twelve years."

"It's time to do something Kakashi," Asuma took his friend's shoulder firmly in his hand.

"Like…?"

"First," Asuma smirked. "We tell Lady Tsunade…"

* * *

Gaara continued to silently comfort Hikari while he let his sister process everything he just told her. He wasn't sure if she would make sense of it all, but he didn't have the time to explain it if she couldn't piece it all together on her own. Hikari wasn't shaking as much as before but she still had a stream of tears running down her face, she would occasionally peek her head out to breathe deeply but then she would return to burying her face into Gaara's sash, obviously not quite ready to face the free world.

"So let me get this straight." Temari ran a hand down her face, "This is Hikari, a girl you met on a swing a little over ten years ago; that same night that all those village children disappeared?"

"Hai," Gaara nodded. Of course there was more to the story than that, but he could discuss that with her another day. For now, his main concern was Hikari's well being. "Hikari...?"

She pulled her head from his chest to looked up into his aquamarine eyes, after drying her face with her dirty sleeve she smiled lightly; Gaara was happy to see that it was the same smile he saw on that little girl in the park. "Hai, Kenai?"

"My sister, Temari, will take you to our home to get you clea-

"YOU SON-OF-A-BITCH!"

Hikari jumped as the office door was once again thrown open, causing all the paperwork to go astray. She quickly hid behind Gaara, while he growled, finally losing his temper after the days happenings. "Kankuro you will watch your language and lower your voice."

His older brother's face was beat red, his shoulders rising and falling with his angry breathing. The purple paint on his face had been smudged but clearly he was too upset to care, all he was concerned about was confronting his Kazekage. He jabbed a finger towards Gaara, nearly taking out his nose as he yelled, "YOU ACTUALLY BOUGHT A SLAVE?! YOU FUCKING PAID THAT PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR A MAN AND-

"ENOUGH!" Gaara raised his voice for the first time in years. He could tell by the tightening grip Hikari had on the back of his robes that his older brother was seriously frightening her. He took a slow breath and continued, "Temari is going to take Hikari home to give her a much needed bath, and then you and I will talk."

Kankuro hardly showed signs of even hearing his brother talking, never once breaking eye contact with him. Surprisingly, he didn't even move a muscle when Temari signalled for Hikari to exit the room with her; it wasn't until he heard the resounding click of the door that he let loose again. This time, Gaara didn't try to quiet him- instead he simply let him blow whatever steam he had built up.

"I SWEAR TO KAMI GAARA IF YOU DON'T EXPLAIN RIGHT THIS INSTANT I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR ASS TO KONOHA AND BACK! I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE THE KAZEKAGE AND I SURE AS HELL DON'T CONSIDER YOU MY BROTHER IF YOU THINK YOU CAN DO SOMETHING AS LOW AND DEGRADING AS BUYING A MOTHER FUCKING- GET OUT!"

Kankuro's rant had been interrupted as Matsuri tried to enter the office and see what all the yelling was about. The moment she stuck her head in she regretted it as Kankuro's attention had turned to the intruder. Saliva from the irate shinobi's mouth had sprayed all over her face; she squeaked in surprise and immediately exited the office. As soon as he turned back to continue yelling at the red head he froze, huffing as he watched Gaara retake his seat behind the desk. "I'm not done with you yet!"

Gaara sighed, "Did you not want that explanation today? Or would you prefer next week?"

Kankuro glared and stomped his way over to the desk as well, taking the chair that had been off to the side and slamming it down in front of Gaara as close as he could get it. Once he was seated he crossed his arms to keep from reaching for his shuriken, "Well?"

"I did not purchase Hikari as a slave- I did it to save her life."

Kankuro turned his head to look at the floor; he was stubborn and refused to believe any of Gaara's excuses. Regardless of why he did it, Kankuro believed that paying that man is only keeping his business running- and that in itself was a betrayal to him. "Then why not buy all of them? Why does only one girl get to be free?"

Gaara frowned, not really expecting that question, but he already had an answer for it anyway. "I figured that if I let him go, he may lead us to the man that was behind the kidnappings ten years ago."

"Then why didn't you look into that the first time he came to sell you slaves?" The puppeteer accused again. "What is it that's different this time around?"

"I recognized Hikari as the girl I met the same night the kidnappings occurred."

Kankuro furrowed his eyebrows, "You met someone that night? You only would have been six."

"Yes, I was sitting alone on my swing as usual." Gaara nodded. "I was approached by a young girl about my age, and she had asked me to be her friend."

"Why didn't you ever mention this before?"

"You and Temari didn't exactly speak to me back then either, if I remember correctly." Gaara put it bluntly; he didn't have the time to spare feelings.

The puppeteer frowned; although it was the truth, he still didn't like to hear it. "And then what happened?"

"She hugged me, whispered something and then ran away before I could stop her."

"What did she say?" Kankuro leaned forward in his seat, curious.

"She said, 'One day you will save me', and I guess she was right."

Kankuro took in all the information as best he could, and let it bang around inside his head for a few minutes before something came to mind, "She must not have been from Suna."

Gaara raised his eyebrows, "Why do you say that?"

"Well," Kankuro scratched his chin and sighed. "Unfortunately, all the children in the village were taught to know what you were back then, and raised to fear you. This girl didn't though, right?"

"No," Gaara agreed, he was beginning to question why he hadn't come to this conclusion on his own years ago. "This girl acted as if she had no idea what I was capable of- and now that I think about it, she looked like she had already been enslaved for a while."

"So you think that there is a separate man doing the kidnappings, and then selling the children off to various caravans?"

"It would make more sense," The Kazekage crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. It was good to get a second opinion on all of this, and who else thought of that night more than his brother? "It makes it harder to track the children if they are constantly being moved from one ownership to another."

Both men sat in silence after that, too busy contemplating their next move. One thing was for sure; they were going to put an end to slavery once and for all.

* * *

**Hello all! Hope you liked the first chapter XD just putting it out there to if anyone is interested in more! Please let me know if you do!**

**EC**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Kakashi walked slowly behind Asuma. He knew that this was the right thing to do, but he wasn't sure if he could handle talking about it. Asuma already assured him that he'd help, but after so many years of convincing the Hokage- and others- that he was emotionless and lazy, how could he flush it all down the toilet in one sitting?

Asuma stopped outside the Hokage's door and knocked softly. The two of them held their breath until they heard a low mumble, "Come in."

Kakashi tried his best to shrug off his emotionless shell and stepped into the office with Asuma.

"Kakashi, Asuma," Lady Tsunade quickly hid her cup of sake in the drawer of her desk. "What brings you here?"

Asuma cleared his throat, "We have a matter that must be brought to your attention."

Tsunade looked bored as her eyes travelled from one shinobi to the other. '_Since when does Kakashi involve himself in these things?'_

"Have you read my personal file, Lady Tsunade?" Kakashi asked a question everyone knew the answer to- the Hokage could only be seen reading extra paper work in her nightmares, and even then she fought to the death over it.

"I was never aware that you _had_ one, Hatake."

"I figured," he sighed before moving to the filing cabinet across the room. After a few moments of flipping through the alphabet, Kakashi finally pulled out a small folder. "Here, this will explain why we- mostly I- are here."

Lady Tsunade sat up straight as the file was tossed to land directly in front of her. She eyed the two shinobi before slowly opening the folder. Her face remained bland as she skimmed over Kakashi's birth information, parental signatures and then some academy records.

It wasn't until she came across a small photo near the middle of the file, that her eyes widened and her posture stiffened. The picture contained two young adults in front of Kakashi's home. The young woman in the picture was laughing in her lover's arms; her long, dark-brown hair blew in the wind, leaving some strands to fall in front of her pale green eyes. She was small and slender, obviously not a shinobi.

Tsunade then turned her attention to the man holding the beautiful girl lovingly. He was taller and had silver hair, but he smiled just as pleasantly. There was no doubt in Tsunade's mind that this man was Kakashi Hatake; only he was younger and obviously happier when the picture was taken.

Kakashi sighed. The look he was now receiving from his Hokage was the same look he got from countless women a long time ago.

"You aren't wearing your mask or headband in this picture!" Tsunade spluttered in disbelief.

"Riku loved it when I didn't wear them." He shrugged.

"I can see why…!"

Asuma slapped his hand to his forehead, "Can you continue Madam Hokage?" He really didn't want to hear about how good looking his best friend was and probably still is.

She nodded quickly and turned to the next couple pages. Once again, she saw something that she least expected- more birth certificates. Only these papers belonged to a set of twins; a baby boy and a baby girl.

Lady Tsunade sighed in surprise at the parental signatures; Kakashi and Riku had a family together at the age of eighteen. She gave Kakashi a worried look and turned the page. What she saw made her eyes soften and she brought her hand to her cheek- it was Riku's death certificate.

"Kakashi, I'm so sorry…" Lady Tsunade sighed as she shook her head. If she had only read the files like she was supposed to, she would have understood who Kakashi was. "What happened to your children?"

Kakashi nodded to signal her to move on to the next page.

The paper was gently flipped by her now shaking hand, she wasn't sure what to expect or if she even wanted to know. Tsunade was relieved to see that there were no more death certificates, but what was actually there didn't seem much better- Missing Children reports. It brought tears to her eyes to finally see what all of Kakashi's past had really been hidden.

"It was the day before their sixth birthday," Kakashi explained quietly. It was hard to talk about it, but he knew that she needed to know everything. "I had come home to a torn apart house, Riku dead and the children just... gone."

"You have no idea who took them?" Tsunade questioned further.

"No, I was on an overnight mission."

"Did you look for them...for a trail- for anything?"

"…Yes. I searched for weeks and nothing came of it, so I... stopped looking." The pain in Kakashi's eyes was more evident than she had ever seen.

Tsunade held back another sigh- there was no need to make him feel any guiltier than he already did.

Asuma cleared his throat to capture the attention of the Hokage. When her head was turned he walked towards her desk, "It's been twelve years since their disappearance. It's about time we did something."

"What do you suppose we do, Asuma?" Lady Tsunade closed the folder, but kept the two missing children reports on her desk. "Its been so long, the trail will be dead cold- hell, it was cold twelve years ago!"

"Send photos of the children and their info to our allies," he voiced his plans with confidence. "They can help us keep an eye out for them, and if they find or remember anything they report to us immediately."

Tsunade nodded. Asuma's plan seemed to be logical enough. She then turned to Kakashi, "Have you told Sakura and Naruto about them?"

Kakashi shook his head, "No, but I will."

"They would do everything in their power to help you find them, I'm sure of it."

* * *

Gaara and Kankuro entered their home to sounds of laughter and water splashing. Kankuro raised his eyebrows at his little brother, but received a shrug in return. After making their way down the hall and towards the bathroom, Gaara knocked lightly; when hearing his sister's voice of approval he entered. Upon doing so he couldn't hold back a smile. Temari sat on a towel just outside the bath, her hair slightly frizzy from getting wet and bubbles all over the floor. Hikari was just a floating head due to the mountain of white bubbles piled on top of the warm water. What he enjoyed the most about this scene was the wide smile stretched across Hikari's face.

"Someone is having fun without me," Kankuro laughed at the duo.

"I haven't had a bath with bubbles in, well...as long as I can remember!" Hikari giggled again and blew some of the bubbles towards the boys- the lack of weight to the bubbles stopped them from even making it halfway before they sunk to the floor.

It would never cease to amaze Gaara how lively she was. Even after years of being enslaved, beaten and who knows what else, Hikari was still able to laugh and act like the girl he assumed her to have been before she was taken. After remembering the scenario in which she was brought here, Gaara frowned.

"What's wrong Kenai? Did I use too many bubbles?"

The worried expression on her face didn't make him feel any better- even something as small as bubbles had her afraid of punishment. "No, you may use as many bubbles as you like... Hikari, may I ask you a question?"

"You already did," She smiled. "You may ask another one too."

Gaara chuckled, trying his best to keep the conversation light and friendly. "Do you remember where you are from- or who your parents are?"

Hikari's smile faded and she bowed her head. At first Gaara thought this was her way of saying that she didn't want to talk about it, but when her eyebrows drew together she looked up and nodded. "Myself and my twin brother were taken from Konohagakure, my mother was killed while she was trying to protect us- and my father was out of the village on a mission. I don't know his name; I only ever called him Dad."

A gasp filled the silence, causing everyone in the room to look at Temari in confusion. Without warning she jumped up off the floor and fled from the room, only to stick her head back in briefly, "I'll be right back."

Kankuro shook his head at his sister and then shrugged at Gaara, "Don't ask me- I have no idea."

"Um," Hikari bit her lip. "Could I get out now?"

"You don't need to ask questions like that," Gaara answered firmly. "You are free to do whatever you wish now."

When Hikari blushed, Kankuro clued in and grabbed his brother's sleeve to yank him out of the bathroom before he had a chance to ask the poor girl any more questions. After the door clicked shut Gaara growled and brushed off his brother's grip, "What are you doing?"

"You realize she was naked under all those bubbles?" Kankuro whispered. "You didn't expect her to climb out with us standing there watching did you?"

It was the Kazekage's turn to blush; the mere thought of seeing her naked threw him off guard. He wasn't exactly familiar with female interaction- especially in that manner. He cleared his throat before leading his brother into the kitchen to grab a dink, "Thank you."

Kankuro laughed, "Judging by your beat-red face, you're still a virgin."

"So." Gaara glared.

"So nothing," the puppeteer put his hands up in surrender. "I was just making an observation."

"Well don't," he settled and smirked. "At least I'm not a man whore."

The moment the words were out of his little brother's mouth, Kankuro's mouth was opening and closing like a fish out of water. He spluttered, "I am _not_ a man-whore!"

"Hn," the sand manipulator walked away to sit on the couch in the living area of their shared home. "Tell me then, how many of the women that you've slept with have you actually courted?"

"I don't keep track..." He pouted.

"Gaara!"

The Kazekage rose from the couch as his sister rushed back in through the front door. She waved a piece of paper in front of his face as she doubled over to catch her breath and he snatched it in annoyance. "Use your words Temari, I don't respond well to things being thrust up my nose."

She waved her hand in dismissal, "Just read it Gaara."

"What is it?" Kankuro, feeling left out, craned his neck as far as it would go so he could read over his little brother's shoulder.

Slightly annoyed at his brother's lack of respect for his personal space, Gaara did as Temari asked and looked down at the piece of paper. It was sent from Konoha; that much was obvious thanks to the village leaf stamped on the bottom left corner. There was a picture dead centre on the page, with a short description that gets straight to the point beneath it. Two children, whom he assumes are twins are smiling at the camera. The young girl however bares a striking resemblance to the child he met all those years ago on the swing, which means he's looking at an old photo of Hikari.

"What are you all looking at?" Hikari's quiet voice rings out behind them, they had all been too stunned to hear the opening of the bathroom door.

Gaara shook his head in disbelief, what are the chances of this? She's been a missing child for twelve years and now, at the same time he finds her, her home village begins looking for her? But that wasn't the part that shocked him. It was Hikari's lineage; right at the end of her and her brother's description was the name of their father. Hatake no Kakashi.

* * *

Sakura placed her hands on her hips and glared as Kakashi approached them in the training field. "Hey Kakashi-sensei," she huffed. "What's your excuse this time?"

Kakashi shrugged and tried to smile, "I'm sorry Sakura, Naruto, but I had a rather important matter to discuss with the Hokage."

_"S-u-r-e _you did," Naruto rolled his eyes as he sat cross legged in the grass.

"It's true," Kakashi pulled his hands out of his pockets. "Now I want to discuss the same matter with you two."

Sakura's expression changed from being furious to curious, while Naruto jumped to his feet with excitement.

"Is it a new mission sensei?!"

"Not quite- at least not yet," Kakashi shrugged lightly. "It's actually more personal this time."

"Personal?" Sakura and Naruto both asked and Kakashi nodded in response.

"Is it personal for Naruto or me?" Sakura looked to Naruto and then back to her teacher.

"Well," Kakashi's eyes fell slightly. He wasn't entirely sure how to go about doing this, or even if they would believe him. "It's personal for me."

"Huh?" Naruto's blank expression remained.

Kakashi got an idea and signalled for his teenage students to follow him. They walked from the training grounds and through town, mostly in silence too, until Naruto looked around impatiently.

"Where are we going?"

Kakashi looked over his shoulder but continued to walk, "To my house."

Sakura raised her eyebrows at Naruto and then rushed to walk beside her sensei. "What is it you need to get from there?"

Kakashi didn't answer her question until they were already standing at his front door. He unlocked it and pushed it open so that Naruto and Sakura could step in. "We aren't picking anything up," he shut the door behind them. "I have to show you something."

Sakura nodded slowly. She wasn't sure what to make of this situation; their sensei had never asked them to his home before.

Naruto looked from Sakura back to Kakashi. He too had noticed the different behaviour in the copy Nin; he just wasn't sure what it was.

The Jounin walked passed them quickly. He had an idea as to how to tell them, but he knew it wasn't going to be a picnic for him. Kakashi looked at Sakura sadly for a moment before waving for them to follow him down the hall. He past the kitchen and the living area and turned towards the bedrooms. His room was at the very end, but he didn't have to go that far. Kakashi stopped in the middle of the hall, just in front of one of the closed doors.

He took a deep breath when Sakura and Naruto joined him and then reached out to place his hand on the door knob. Kakashi's hand almost seemed to tremble before he looked to the ground and let his hand fall back to his side.

"Kakashi-sensei…?" Sakura tilted her head to the side. She watched wide eyed, as Kakashi pulled off his headband and wiped away a small tear that had escaped his eye.

"I can't do it, I'm not ready."

"Ready, but for what…?" Sakura rested a hand on his arm hesitantly. Neither of them had ever seen their sensei like this.

"I haven't been in that room for twelve years." He ran a hand through his silver hair. "You go ahead, Sakura."

Sakura glanced at Naruto before stepping towards the door and turning the door knob. She gave Kakashi another look as it slowly creaked open. When she received a nod of approval from Kakashi, she continued in and turned on the light. Sakura gasped but covered her mouth quickly; stepping aside to allow Naruto to enter as well.

The room was large with baby-green walls and a double bed under the window. Drawings were scattered across the floor and desk, while an old guitar sat in the corner of an open closet.

"This…" Kakashi finally worked up the courage to speak. "This is my daughter's room."

Naruto's jaw dropped, "You have a kid?!"

Sakura whacked her team mate in the back of the head for his outburst and then looked at her sensei.

Kakashi could only manage a nod, "Twins."

Neither Sakura nor Naruto were sure of what to say, so they remained silent to explore the room.

Naruto walked around to look at the pictures the small child must have drawn. A lot of the sketches were of animals, but looked almost as if they were done by an artist instead of a little girl.

Sakura simply scanned the room again; her eyes falling once more on the guitar. She approached it, and then let her hand delicately roam over the steal strings. "Can she play?"

Kakashi looked up from the photo he was holding. "In her own way she did," he shrugged. "Her mother used to play her a song every night so that she could sleep."

Naruto's eyes fell to the ground, "What is her name?"

"Hikari," he answered softly.

"How old is she?"

"…" Kakashi looked at Naruto. He tried to answer his question, but no words would come out.

Sakura noticed this and made her way over to Kakashi to look at the picture in his hands. Surprisingly, he made no attempt to hide it like he usually would have.

The photo was of him and a small girl about three years of age. She had long, dark brown hair; but her bangs were too short to be held behind her ears. Instead, they fell in front of her face. Her smile was the same as her father's, and her cheeks were flushed from laughing. Kakashi didn't wear his mask in this picture, which normally would have made her smile or freak out, but it only made her sadder. It was like Kakashi wore his mask because he couldn't be the same person he was in this picture.

"She looks just like you, except for-."

"Her hair and eyes…" Kakashi finished her sentence. "Hikari has her mother's green eyes and brown hair."

Sakura nodded. She wanted to ask about the mother too, but she didn't want to make Kakashi talk about something he wasn't ready for.

"You said you had twins…?" Naruto spoke quietly from the desk.

"Yes," Kakashi sighed and set he picture down on his daughter's night table.

Naruto and Sakura followed him from Hikari's room to the room directly across the hall. Kakashi seemed to enter this room much easier than he did the first. This room was similar in size to the other, but with ocean-blue walls and a black drum kit in one corner. This floor was also cluttered with sketches, only these ones were of mythical creatures. The detail was just as good, but you could see the difference in style the artist used. Sakura and Naruto could easily tell that this room was for a boy.

"His name is Tsuki," Kakashi knew what they were going to ask after he answered this question. He just wasn't sure if he was ready for it.

"Where are they, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto turned to face the Jounin.

Kakashi shook his head, "I don't know, Naruto."

Sakura turned as well. She searched her teacher's eyes, but found nothing new. It was still the same; everything was pain and suffering. Only someone who knew him from childhood would maybe be able to see something happier. "What do you mean you don't know?"

The copy ninja walked over to sit on his son's bed; it still hadn't been made. He seemed to search for something with his eyes; but he remembered where it was and reached under the pillow. Kakashi pulled out another photo and studied it.

Sakura could easily tell that the boy in this picture, and the girl in the other were twins. Tsuki had silver hair like Kakashi's. It was more shaggy and shorter than his sister's, but it fell around his face instead of sticking up on end like Kakashi's did. He did have the same eyes as his father though- in fact, everything else about him mirrored his father. Tsuki didn't seem to have any similar physical traits to anyone else, but then again, Sakura had never seen his mother.

"They went missing at the age of six," Kakashi finally looked up at his students. "They were taken from our home..."

"Where were you when this happened?" Naruto's voice seemed strained, and his fists were clenched at his sides.

"I was on a mission."

"What about their mother, where was she?" Sakura couldn't hold herself back any longer.

Kakashi flinched at the question, but recovered quickly. "She was here with them," his eyes fell to the picture again. "Her body was found jammed in the closet, her face barely recognizable anymore. I suppose I had more enemies than I thought."

"I'm so sorry Kakashi," Sakura took off the suffix as she choked back the tears.

"Why didn't they have any protection then?" You could hear the anger in Naruto's voice, no matter how much he tried to fight it. "Why didn't you leave someone with them?"

"I know what you're getting at Naruto," Kakashi rose to his feet. "But Riku had had some training, and my children weren't your average six year old's."

"What do you mean by that?" Naruto looked Kakashi in the eye; daring him to give some excuse for this.

"They were ready to graduate the academy the following week, I thought-."

"That they could take care of themselves…?" Sakura whispered in disbelief. She forcefully wiped the tears from her eyes. "How could you think that?"

Kakashi knew he deserved every bit of their resentment, so he took it the best he could. "I was stupid, Sakura."

"Yes Kakashi," Naruto took off the suffix as well, like he had lost all respect for his teacher. "You _are."_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Kakashi sat alone on his couch staring at a glass of sake. He knew that drinking was never going to make his problems disappear, nor would it bring Tsuki and Hikari back to him. He sighed and grabbed the glass from the table and walked to the kitchen. After pouring the alcohol down the drain he ran both hands through his hair.

"Kakashi-sensei!" a voice rang through the house from the doorway.

Kakashi took a deep breath and walked to the already open door. Sakura and Naruto were standing there waiting for him. "Hi, what brings you here?"

"Kakashi- sensei," Naruto stepped forward and smiled, his hands fidgeting behind his back. "I know I was harsh the other day…"

"Naruto," Kakashi shook his head. "I deserved every bit of it."

"No you didn't, and you don't." Sakura smiled from behind Naruto. "We can tell that you've beaten yourself up about this already, you don't need us to make you feel any guiltier."

"We're going to do everything we can to help you get your kids back Kakashi," Naruto punched his sensei in the arm roughly. "We accept the mission!"

Kakashi's eyes told them that he was smiling back at them. "I really appreciate it Naruto, Sakura."

"We still owe you," Naruto scratched the back of his head.

"Kakashi…" Sakura drawled out his name as she sniffed the air of his apartment. "Why do I smell sake?"

This time it was the copy ninja's turn to scratch the back of his head. "I dumped it down the drain actually… I'm done with drinking."

Sakura smiled and nodded. She was glad that he was taking some small steps forward on his own.

"Want to come with us to see Lady Tsunade?" Naruto asked after a few moments of silence between them; he never allowed that for too long anyhow. "She's finished the missing children posters that will be sent to Suna and our other allies."

"Of course," Kakashi grabbed his vest off the couch and followed them to the Hokage tower. He sighed in relief. Nothing meant more to him then this new mission.

Lady Tsunade stood staring out the window behind her desk as Shizune handed each person in the office a copy of the missing children report she made. Naruto and Sakura had arrived with Kakashi- on time for once- after Asuma had arrived with his team. Well, Hinata had replaced Ino on team ten since Hiashi complained that Kurenai obviously wasn't training Hinata properly.

Shikamaru was currently studying the report like there was no tomorrow while Hinata seemed rather sad about the whole situation. Chouji munched on some chips he had brought along while he read over Hinata's shoulder to get a closer look at the pictures. Asuma stood quietly behind his team to ensure that he knew the outcome of the meeting with Tsunade.

Kakashi looked approvingly at the report in his hands but he also seemed a bit sad. Naruto and Sakura had already packed their copies away in their bags.

"I've sent out a few copies to Suna and some more to Waterfall and Wave." Tsunade placed her hands on the window sill, her back to the shinobi in the room "I can't tell you if we'll ever receive helpful information, but we can hope."

"Will there be a brief search mission to figure out who may have taken them?" Shikamaru stuffed his hands in his pockets after neatly folding his copy and stuffing it in his pack.

"I can't send out any shinobi for a mission if there is barely a chance they are alive." Lady Tsunade looked over her shoulder, she sighed in apology when she saw Kakashi's face fall slightly.

"I think that the chances of them being alive are a lot higher than the chances of them being dead, to be honest." Shikamaru challenged.

"What do you mean, Nara-san?" Kakashi moved to stand beside his fellow Jounin. He had always respected Shikamaru, and he completely trusted him now.

"Why would people go through the trouble of kidnapping them, only to kill them?"

"I understand your logic, Shikamaru," Lady Tsunade returned her attention to the village outside the window. "But it still doesn't give us anything to work with."

"I disagree."

Tsunade sighed and turned to face one of the smartest shinobi in Fire Country, "Care to explain?"

Shikamaru nodded and looked at Kakashi with a blank expression, "What if this has nothing to do with _you_?"

Kakashi's eyebrow rose in confusion but he refrained from speaking and let Shikamaru to continue.

"What if your wife and children were targeted simply because they were home alone- basically unprotected- and not because they were _your_ family?" Shikamaru laid down his theory.

"That's a big if…" Sakura decided to put in her input.

"That's not true," Hinata spoke up quietly. When everyone's attention turned to her she blushed but continued. "Ano, but I can add to Shikamaru-kun's t-theory."

Everyone nodded and listened carefully. Hinata barely ever voiced her opinion, but when she did it often made sense.

"I-if the kidnappers w-wanted Hikari and Tsuki b-because of Hatake-san, t-they would have made some sort of d-demand." Hinata pushed her index fingers together in front of her face nervously. "There is a-another reason to take y-young children from their h-homes…"

"That reason would be…?" Tsunade was suddenly interested.

"Slavery," Shikamaru stated with a sigh, he was disgusted with the possibility. "Children raised as slaves can be sold for a lot of money these days.

Kakashi flinched at the thought. Is that where his children have been all these years? Obeying some lazy ass-hole that can't grab his own glass of sake or wash his own laundry? Or were they getting the shit kicked out of them?

Lady Tsunade seemed to deeply consider the possibility. It was horrible but it definitely fit the puzzle. "Would you have any idea where to begin to search?"

Shikamaru shrugged, "There are many villages that have made slavery illegal, so there are less places to look."

"Ano," Hinata stepped forward with a little more confidence. "I have also seen some travelling caravans with young slaves among them."

Kakashi clenched his fists in impatience; now that he knew that there was a much higher possibility that his kids were alive, he couldn't stand just… standing here. "I agree with Nara's theory."

"Me too," Naruto gave Tsunade a thumbs up. "We'll find them, believe it!"

Sakura smiled at her teammate's enthusiasm, but she still worried about Kakashi. Would he be able to handle such a personal mission… especially if it doesn't end well?

"Lady Tsunade," Shizune dared to speak her opinion. "I really don't think that a small mission could hurt…"

"Thank you Shizune," Kakashi smiled under his mask. "But you don't have to throw yourself into the line of fire."

Tsunade huffed at his comment but nodded to his friend and assistant. "I will allow one, two-week-long mission for information gathering only."

Asuma sighed loudly in relief and Hinata jumped slightly in surprise; Asuma-sensei had been so quiet that she had forgotten he was behind her.

Chouji crumpled his now empty chip bag and smiled, "So when do we head out?"

Shikamaru shook his head at his best friend before turning anxiously to hear Tsunade's answer.

Lady Tsunade sighed and looked around at all the faces in front of her. She could see the anticipation in Kakashi's unmasked eye and she knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep at night if she made him wait any longer. "You may leave in the morning… you have two weeks. You're dismissed."

"Hai," Sakura nodded to the Hokage and followed Naruto out.

Kakashi waited for everyone to exit before allowing himself to leave as well. At the sound of hearing his name being called he looked over his shoulder at Tsunade.

"Good luck, Kakashi." She smiled lightly.

Kakashi nodded and then continued out of the Hokage tower. Once outside he let out a long breath. He noticed that Naruto and Sakura were waiting for him but he shook his head and signalled them to move on without him. Kakashi received a nod from Naruto and he said something to Sakura before the two of them took off in the direction of their homes. Kakashi ran a hand through his hair and removed his headband before heading for his own house.

**The following morning...**

Hinata quietly walked behind her new teammates. She definitely missed Shino and Kiba- especially Akamaru- as well as Kurenai-sensei. Shikamaru-kun and Chouji-kun are okay too; they got along much better than Shino and Kiba.

She sighed lightly and took out the poster from her pocket. It was very sad for her when she first found out about Kakashi-san's missing children and about what had happened to his wife; no wonder he was always so distant and secretive about his emotions.

"OW! SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto's voice brought Hinata back into the present. She had fallen behind the group a bit. She jogged to catch up and smiled when she heard Naruto whine some more.

Hinata no longer had that silly childhood crush on Naruto, but she still admired him for his strong will to never give up. There was no doubt in her mind that he would be Hokage someday.

"BAKA!" Sakura's voice rang out from the front of the group. "YOU ARE SO STUPID NARUTO!"

Hinata sighed heavily again- this time catching the attention of the lazy Jounin in front of her.

"Hinata," Shikamaru fell back to walk beside her. "Is everything all right?"

She shrugged, "I'm not sure…"

He raised his eyebrows and then rubbed the back of his head, "Troublesome, now I'm curious."

Hinata giggled softly at her new friend. "It's just, I c-cant help b-but think t-that I've seen this b-boy before…"

Shikamaru was about to comment but was caught off guard when Kakashi 'poofed' himself between him and Hinata, causing him to stumble to the side.

Hinata jumped in surprise and then blushed at Kakashi-san's closeness- his masked face was dangerously close to her own.

"Lady Hinata," Kakashi spoke carefully. "Where have you seen my son?"

Shikamaru had already straightened and brushed his pants off by this time. When Hinata began to stutter out the fact that she couldn't remember he rearranged his ninja vest and cleared his throat, "Maybe she is thinking of you, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi straightened up at this and left Hinata to relax a little.

"You do look a lot like your son," Shikamaru continued. "Hinata may be thinking that she's seen Tsuki before when really her memory is just picturing you-

"No," Hinata cut him off and shook her head vigorously. "I do remember."

Kakashi and Shikamaru gave Hinata their full attention.

"I know where I've seen him b-before…"

"WHERE HINATA?!" Naruto burst into the conversation and nearly knocked Hinata over.

"Naruto…" Sakura growled out his name as she stomped over. She grabbed his ear and yanked down, "Not so loud, BAKA!"

Shikamaru sweat dropped and shook his head. Those two really needed to learn how to get along...

Meanwhile Hinata had never felt so cornered in her life, not even when she was in the chuunin exams with Neiji as her opponent. She had Naruto facing her head on while nursing his inflamed ear; Sakura held her hands on her hips just beside him and Kakashi, Shikamaru and Asuma-sensei shared the space to her left. They all wore expectant faces; except Chouji-kun, he seemed to be more interested in licking the salt out of his empty bag of potato chips. She sighed gratefully at him, he always seemed to know how to pretend that he wasn't listening- or at least, she hoped it was pretend.

"Um," Hinata tapped her finger tips together again. "What were we talking about?"

Kakashi's shoulders fell slightly but smiled anyway, "I'm sorry to put you on the spot again Lady Hinata, but any information is helpful, even if you only remember bits of it."

"Right, of course!" Hinata blushed. "Ano, I'm just not good at speaking to so many at once."

She shook her head and bit her lip before taking a big breath and explaining her encounter with the caravan...

_**Flashback**_

_She was tired, sweaty and nowhere near home. All the trees surrounding her had begun __to look the same. Her mission had stretched out nearly an entire week longer than she had packed provisions for, leaving her without food for the last four days. Hinata was irritable to say the least- luckily she was alone and didn't need to worry about insulting Kiba or Shino._

_ After slowing her pace she stopped to listen for any signs of people, her chakra levels were far too low to use byakugan. She turned to her left, surprised to hear some laughter so close by. She was not naive however, as a shinobi she knew that anyone could be an enemy out here, so stealth was her best option until further investigation._

_ Taking to the trees Hinata quietly drew closer to the voices. Once she reached the small clearing she stole a glance around the trunk of a tree, not at all pleased with what she saw; the laughter had been coming from two men, late thirties, dirty and drunk- and not even ten feet away sat roughly fifteen to twenty people- ranging from five to fifty- all tied to anchors in the ground. Ignoring the disgusting excuses for men drinking sake, Hinata took a closer look at each of the prisoners._

_ The men were separate from the women, and the children separate from all of them. Amongst the women sat a slightly- yet still obviously pregnant girl, whom Hinata guessed couldn't be more than seventeen. If she had to guess, she would say she was about four to five months along, and incredibly malnourished._

_ Hinata knew that slavery was still legal in many areas, but never had she seen a caravan so close to the Leaf Village; Konoha had banned the selling of slaves in this forest over twenty years ago, so what brought them here now?_

_ "Hey you!" _

_ Hinata ducked behind the tree as quickly as she could, her heart beating a hundred times a second- fearing that her cover had been blown she reached for her shuriken._

_ "Shut up kid or I'll cut your tongue out."_

_ Sighing with relief Hinata dared another peak, just to see who among the slaves was brave enough to speak. There was a young man, maybe eighteen, it was hard to tell with all the dirt caked on his face and through his hair- it looked brown, but underneath the top layer of hair Hinata could swear she saw silver. She smiled lightly, the boy reminding her a little of Kakashi-sensei…_

_ "Do you mind getting us some food over here?-or at the very least, something for Aomi?" The young man narrowed his eyes at the intoxicated men while he fiddled with his chains. "She's pregnant for Kami's sake!"_

_ Hinata watched with a frown as the one man laughed and stood up, grabbing a long staff off the ground on his way over to the silver haired boy. The boy showed no fear however, not even after he had been struck across the face._

_ "I said shut your hole," The slave driver shouted and tossed the stick to the side. "She's had more than enough food to keep the brat alive."_

_ "What about her then?" He growled back. "She'll never survive child labour if-_

_ "Well we don't care about that, now do we?"_

_ "You're a coward you know that?"_

_ After a swift kick to the ribs, the young man keeled over to dry heave. With nothing in his stomach to throw up, his muscles simply convulsed as he gasped for air._

_ "If you were that concerned for the Bitch's well being, then you wouldn't have knocked her up in the first place."_

_ Hinata shifted her weight again as the other driver stood up and stumbled over to his friend, "Take it easy Ichima; you know that Hoshi wants this one alive and kicking."_

_ "I wasn't gonna kill him," Ichima grunted. "Just showing him who the boss is…"_

_ It took all of Hinata's will power not to jump down there and give those two a piece of her mind. If her Father had seen the maltreatment of those poor people, he would have done much worse than use his words._

_ After the man named Ichima and his sidekick had made their way back to the half empty bottle of sake, she turned her attention back to the slaves. A few of the older gentlemen were whispering words of encouragement to the boy, although Hinata wasn't sure how much of them he could hear; he seemed pretty out of it._

_ Aomi uncurled her legs to try to crawl a little closer to- whom Hinata assumed was her lover. "Tsuki…?"_

_ After a few moments there was still no response from him, causing Aomi to begin to cry. _

_ "He's just unconscious child, he'll be alright." One of the elder men reassured her._

_ It wasn't until Hinata's own vision began to blur that she realized that she was in no shape to defend these people. Reluctantly she turned to leave the clearing; she would have to return another time, perhaps with Kiba and Shino to help her…_

_**End Flashback**_

Kakashi clenched and unclenched his fists as his team and Asuma stared at him, all of them hoping that this wasn't going to be his breaking point. Sucking in the largest breath his lungs would allow, Kakashi closed his eyes and counted to three before slowly releasing through his nose; the air heating up his mask. Not only was he trying to come to terms with the possibility that his own son is already a father as well, but he needed to realize that an ally might not be an ally after all.

"Suna head bands," the copy-nin repeated. "Are you _sure_ Lady Hinata?"

The Hyuuga Heiress nodded carefully, "Hai, I'm positive."

"Slow down a minute here," Shikamaru raised his hands to stop all the gears turning over possible accusations, "You are all looking at the evidence at face value, and that's not necessarily the correct way."

"Shikamaru," Naruto stepped forward with a serious look on his face. "If you have another theory on Suna- one that doesn't point fingers at Gaara, my friend- then I'd like to hear it."

The shadow user nodded, "I'll be quick about it. Kakashi, your children were taken about eleven years ago correct?"

"Hai," Kakashi confirmed the time frame with confidence.

"Gaara was not Kazekage eleven years ago- we all know that. His Father was, however, and if I remember correctly Gaara was just as much a victim of his father as any of the stolen children would be."

Chouji cleared his throat as he pulled a fresh bag of chips out of his pack, "So obviously you're saying that we have no reason to be mad with Gaara, as he might be completely oblivious to the connection?"

Everyone stopped and faced Chouji with raised eyebrows, causing him to shrug.

"I can eat and listen at the same time."

Shikamaru chuckled lightly at his friend- he was forever grateful for Chouji's ability to lighten the mood, "In any case- we aren't looking for a village to blame this on, we are looking for rogue ninja working of their own accord."

"I see what you're saying Shikamaru," Kakashi shook his head and sighed. "But that doesn't mean that Suna isn't responsible for the initial kidnapping, therefore shouldn't they still be held accountable?"

"And risk losing a valuable ally? Not even Gaara would take kindly to an accusation like this. Our best option is to confront him with our evidence, and see his reaction- if he's unaware of any slave dealings connected to his village than I can't see him doing anything less than helping."

"If his Father was the monster behind this," Asuma spoke up and rested a hand on Kakashi's shoulder. "Gaara would be the last person to speak on his behalf, I guarantee it."

* * *

Gaara shuffled through the many folders on his desk. Less than ten minutes ago he had retrieved them from the Kazekage library. To his disappointment there had been an entire shelf dedicated to slave owners and previous slaves sold to and from Sunagakure. It wasn't until today's research that he had been made aware of just how close to home this all struck. Gaara grabbed the folders that seemed to match the dates he gathered from the poster sent from Konoha.

A loud noise from outside caused him to jump about a foot from his chair, making him spill all but one folder all over the floor. He sighed and reached down to pick them all up but froze; a small, black and white picture catching his eye. His hand changed course and he picked up the folder that contain that certain picture. After looking at it carefully his breath hitched and he slumped back into his seat. This is what he had been looking for; the small square photo was of young Hikari and her twin brother, Tsuki. They were both in large ragged shirts covered in dirt and sand, tied at the ankles by ropes while a frightened Hikari clung to her brother.

"Gaara!"

The Kazekage flinched as an overly loud, blonde Jinchuuriki came bounding through the door. Although he was happy to see Naruto, he couldn't express it when his mind was currently busy with such tender matters.

Gaara rose to his feet and walked around his desk to greet the teams of Shinobi entering his office. Naruto stepped aside to allow the others to enter and also to avoid shaking Gaara's hand. Hinata entered behind Naruto and bowed her head lightly and then Shikamaru and Chouji followed next.

Gaara nodded to all of them, shook hands with Asuma and Sakura and stared directly into the eyes of Kakashi. "We have received your poster, but we had not been informed that you would be arriving."

Kakashi nodded, "Hai, I know. We were simply going to be scouting the Fire Country for information, but some news from Lady Hinata led us directly here."

Gaara looked to the Hyuuga Heiress briefly but then turned his attention back to the copy-nin. "What information led you here?"

"She recalled a time when she was on a solo mission, about a year ago, when she had stumbled upon a travelling caravan. The caravan was carrying slaves of many ages, and she remembers seeing my son among them."

"Hai," Hinata stepped forward. "It was difficult to place him because his hair was very ratty and covered in mud- his face and clothes as well- although, he d-didn't have a s-shirt…"

Gaara ignored her innocent blush at the image of the half naked man and nodded, returning to his desk. "That still does not tell me why you are _here_."

Kakashi then narrowed his eyes- which surprised the Kazekage greatly. "She then recalled that many of the Shinobi keeping my son…"in line", were wearing Suna headbands."

Naruto clenched his fists, "Gaara; tell me you had nothing to do with any of this."

"I had nothing to do with it," Gaara stated plainly. "Although I have always known about my Father's past slave dealings, I can assure you that I had only become aware of just how involved Suna was recently. My father was the one- according to our files- to order the raid on many neighbouring villages as well as our own."

"HE was the one who ordered my children kidnapped?" Kakashi narrowed his eyes even more dangerously.

"He did not order your children to be taken _specifically_; in fact, I believe that he had no idea that these children had been yours at all." Gaara remained calm in order to inform the shinobi. "But many more children, other than Hikari and Tsuki, were taken all around the same time."

"Do your files s-state whom i-is in ownership of them right n-now?" Hinata spoke again.

"No," Gaara answered but continued when he saw Kakashi's crest-fallen face. "Tsuki's whereabouts are currently unknown."

The silver-haired Jounin raised his eyebrows, "What about Hikari?"

Gaara allowed a small smile, "She is here."

Hinata and Sakura gasped in surprise while all the men in the room simply stared, as if waiting for him to suddenly jump up and confess that he was joking.

"She's…" Kakashi looked around the office at his comrades. "She's here?"

"Otosan…?"

Kakashi froze. Had he heard correctly, or was his imagination playing tricks? The copy-nin slowly turned to face the girl in the doorway. Even after he saw that she was real, the mere disbelief that she was there kept him firmly in his place. Hikari had one hand placed delicately over her mouth in shock and the other holding on to the doorframe, her eyes filling with tears.

Hikari let in a shaky breath, not allowing for any more words, afraid that he would disappear.

"Hikari…?" Kakashi took a hesitant step forward but was nearly thrown backwards when she pummelled him in a tight embrace. He didn't waste any time in wrapping his arms around her, burying his face in her hair. For the first time in as long as he can remember, he allowed his tears to fall.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

The powerful emotions that were rushing through the room gave all the shinobi incredible energy. Everyone had prepared themselves for the worst and now that something so wonderful was happening, no one could keep a smile off their face. Not even Subaku no Gaara.  
Here he had thought all along that this amazing, innocent, and beautiful young woman wouldn't have a home and already her family has grown by a Father and a handful of very protective shinobi.

Most of the others in the room took to celebrating quietly with one another; not wanting to intrude on such a special moment between their long time friend and his daughter. Chouji shared a friendly shove with Hinata and she laughed before poking him back. Naruto had a stupid grin on his face and stealthily placed an arm around Sakura's shoulders, surprisingly she didn't shove him off. Preferring to lean her head on his arm and allowing herself to fall victim to his contagious smile.

Shikamaru, although happy about the goings on in the room, also had business to attend to- Temari. She appeared to be avoiding him at all costs, sticking close to the young Hatake and he was confused as to why. Did she not send that page from her diary? He frowned and looked around the room slowly, only to stop abruptly when he noticed a particular individual smirking at him. The puppeteer wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and nodded his head in the direction of his older sister. Shikamaru groaned internally, _damn it, Kankuro. _Realizing that it must have been the middle sibling that sent the diary page the shadow user mustered up whatever courage he had and made his way over to the obviously nervous Kunoichi. Careful not to disturb anyone else he poked her lightly and signalled for her to follow him out into the hall. Luckily she complied with little hesitation, happy that he was not going to embarrassingly reject her in front of the others.  
Gaara noticed the two bodies exiting his office and smirked along with his brother. Shikamaru may have Temari fooled but the both of them knew that the leaf shinobi returned their sister's feelings. Hopefully he was about to finally confess them instead of wasting any more time- every shinobi knows how short life really is. Gaara frowned at that thought... perhaps he has feelings to confess as well? _No,_ Gaara stopped himself, _perhaps after all of this is over..._

"Hikari," Kakashi took a reluctant step back from his tearful daughter to look deep into her eyes. "I am _so_ sorry."

Hikari shook her head with a smile and wiped her tears, "What could you be sorry for Otosan?"

"I've made so many mistakes!" His eyes widened in surprise at her question. "I wasn't there to protect you, your brother or your mother that night and then I gave up looking for you far too easily! I should have kept searching, should have been doing _anything_ more than what I was-"

"Daddy, stop!" Hikari rushed forward and wrapped her arms around her father once more, this time determined to not let him pull away. "You are here now- I'm safe. That's what matters to me."

Kakashi closed his eyes and sank into his daughters embrace, deciding to let the topic drop for now. Perhaps the resentment won't come until later. Forgetting about the others in the room he jumped a little when Sakura approached with Naruto and lightly touched his arm.

"Hikari, I'm Sakura Haruno, your father is my sensei."

Hikari looked up at her father with slight amusement, "You took on a genin team?"

Kakashi chuckled, "I'm surprised you remember that. I had always said I would never take on a group of genin."

"And miss out on training the next Hokage? Yeah right!" Naruto jumped forward with a goofy grin.

"You don't look like a Hokage..." Hikari frowned.

Naruto crossed his arms and pouted, "Well I'm not the Hokage yet..."

Everyone left in the room laughed lightly at the blondes typical behaviour. Asuma walked over to give his long time friend a pat on the back. Finally things were beginning to come together again for the copy-nin- or one piece at least.

"What will we do about Tsuki?" Asuma cleared his throat and looked at Hikari, reluctant to break up the happy reunion. "Was he in the same caravan as you?"

Hikari sighed and pulled away from her father, and looked to Gaara for reassurance before answering- this little exchange did not go unnoticed by the silver haired shinobi, but he left it for now. "My brother was in the same caravan right at the beginning and right before I was brought here. Both him and I were to be sold to Suna-"

"Why specifically Sunagakure?" Kankuro stepped up curiously, he too was anxious to get to the bottom of all this.

"She wouldn't know the answer to that, Kankuro, let her finish..." Gaara glared at his brother for interrupting before thinking of something himself. "However, if he is to be sold to us as well, why was he not brought here with you?"

Hikari frowned, "That's why we were trained in different camps; I was meant to be a slave while Tsuki is to be sold as a weapon but..."

"But what?" Kakashi urged her to continue.

"Tsuki would never fight willingly for anyone, so they must be using something to control him-"

"A Jutsu you mean?" Gaara offered.

She shook her head and furrowed her eyebrows together, "That's just it though, none of these men can use Jutsu- they all use physical means to get us to do what they want..."

"But if Tsuki is being trained as a weapon..." Kakashi continued and Asuma finished his thought.

"Then eventually they wouldn't be able to control him with just their strength," He pulled out his lighter and lit it, staring at it as he thought carefully. "They must have _something_ that stops him from going against them."

A loud gasp in the room had everyone's head turning to see which one of them had made a connection. Hinata bit her lip, "Aomi..."

"Aomi?" Kakashi shook his head in confusion and shared a look with his daughter but she seemed to be as oblivious as him.

"Hai," Hinata nodded. "The girl I mentioned from my memory of the caravan- she was pregnant!"

Kakashi drew in a breath, "Why would the Drivers allow two slaves to-"

"So they would have a reason for him to obey." Gaara answered the copy-nin's question before it was finished. "A father's love is incredibly strong, but you already know that."

The silver haired shinobi's face paled, was his son also a father? Was that why he wasn't fighting back? It all certainly made sense. If someone had threatened to kill his children unless he fought for them, he would do it without question.

"Then we will just have to save all three of them!" Naruto's fists were clenched in determination. As if it wasn't angering him enough to have to save his sensei's children, now there's a baby too- born into a life of slavery. "We will get your son Kakashi-sensei, and _his _family too, even if it's the last thing I do!"

"It won't come to that," Gaara rested a hand on the blonde's heaving shoulders. "We can do this easily and without risking anyone-"

"How do you suppose we do that?" Kakashi doubted the young Kazekage.

"With a carefully thought out plan," Hikari smiled reassuringly at her Father and Gaara nodded in agreement.

"Do _you_ have a plan, Kazekage-sama?" Asuma raised his eyebrows, joining Kakashi in his doubt.

"Ha!" Naruto crossed his arms and laughed before the red-head had a chance to speak. "Who needs a plan? We have Shikamaru Nara!"

Chouji scratched the back of his head and looked around the room, "Uh... where _is_ Shikamaru..?"

* * *

Temari shuffled her feet nervously underneath the bench. Her and Shikamaru had silently made their way outside to be alone. The leaf shinobi was currently beside her, leaned back to look up at the sky with his hands interlocked behind his head. She was waiting for him to speak, but after ten minutes of silence she became inpatient.

"Shikamaru, look-"

"So you love me, huh?" He interrupted calmly. When she didn't answer he turned to look at her. After seeing her red cheeks and slightly watering eyes he leaned forward and was about to continue but Temari spoke first.

"Just get it over with then," She tilted her chin up proudly and fought her tears back. This is something she had prepared herself for all along right?

Shikamaru sighed, "Troublesome... you should have told me sooner."

Temari glared at him dangerously, "I wouldn't have told you at all! It was my stupid brother-"

"I'll have to thank him later I suppose," he rolled his eyes. "He'll enjoy that no doubt."

The blonde Kunoichi huffed, "_Thank_ him?"

"For ending my ridiculous thoughts about you not returning my feelings," Shikamaru smirked at her with a side glance. _"Obviously... _troublesome woman."

Temari stared watery eyed at the man in front of her, not wanting to believe him for a second- what if he was just messing with her? "Your feelings..?"

"I figured you hated me, what with you being so haughty with me all the time," Shikamaru chuckled. "Didn't stop me from falling for you though, did it?"

She couldn't stop the one tear from escaping her eye, and she couldn't move to stop the leaf ninja from wiping it away. "When..?"

"While I was escorting you around the village all those times," He shrugged as if it were nothing. "I suppose I didn't fully realize what it was_,_ until I had to watch you walk away that last time- it was incredibly painful and hard to ignore. You caused me a lot of sleepless nights."

"You think _that_ was hard?" Temari's lip quivered, but she sucked in a breath and rose to her feet to face him head on as he remained seated. "Try being the one who had to _leave_! Every step I took got heavier- I had the entire journey to remind myself that it was _me_ who was choosing to walk away from _you_!"

"Then why didn't you stay?" Shikamaru rose to his feet, at his full height he stood about three inches taller than the wind user. "You certainly made it look easy."

"Because I was afraid!" She shook her head and shouted at him, her composure almost completely lost. She no longer cared about the people staring as they walked by and allowed her tears to fall freely. "I was afraid that you would tell me what I already know!"

"And what is that exactly?" Shikamaru raised his eyebrows at that, surprisingly calm considering the state of the rather frightening Kunoichi in front of him.

"That you don't love me back..."

"Troublesome woman," he muttered. Did he not just go over this? _Here goes nothing I guess..._

Shikamaru reached out to grab Temari's face before she had a chance to pull away, and only after staring into her eyes for a brief second did he pull her in and crash his lips to hers. The moment he made contact she responded by wrapping her arms around his neck, she pushed against him and forced him to sit back on the bench so she could straddle him. He moaned softly and slowed the kiss down so he could gently run his tongue along her lower lip, tasting the salt from her now dried tears. He had been waiting so long to do this, he didn't want to let her go ever again..

"Hey Shikamaru are you out-?" Chouji stepped out of the Kazekage tower and froze for a mere second before slapping his hands to his face. "KAMI, MY EYES!"

Temari leapt off of the bench and quickly began to straighten her clothes and hair. Shikamaru didn't bother hiding his disappointment and sighed, "Damn it Chouji."

"It burns... oh Kami, it _burns._ Just kill me now..." Chouji was now rolling dramatically on the ground. He curled himself up into the foetal position and began to rock gently, clearly intent on over reacting.

"Get up off the ground, Chouji, we were just _kissing_." Shikamaru shook his head, amused. Only his best friend would behave this way- well- him and Naruto.

Temari blushed and looked away as Chouji picked himself up and looked at the two of them with his arms crossed and a smirk across his chubby face, "Well well well..."

Shikamaru chuckled, "Leave it alone Chouji..."

"Why were you looking for us anyway?" Temari placed her hands on her hips, finally letting the attitude back out.

Chouji cleared his throat, "Oh ya, we need you upstairs- something about coming up with a plan to get Tsuki and his kid back-"

"He has a child?" Temari and Shikamaru asked at the same time and Chouji raised his hands up.

"Don't look at me, it's not my fault you guys missed everything."

The couple rolled their eyes and smiled at each other before signalling for Chouji to lead the way inside. They had a few things to be filled in on apparently. The rest of their affairs could be taken care of later, however, Shikamaru secretly hoped that he wouldn't be returning to Konoha without Temari.

* * *

Gaara shifted uncomfortably in his chair and looked around his office. With it being as small as it is, there was hardly enough room for everyone to be in here without it making him slightly claustrophobic. Kakashi and Asuma were conversing and standing off to the left of the room behind Hikari as Naruto talked animatedly to her about all of his adventures with her Father. She kept glancing over at him to smile happily and knowing that she took comfort in his presence gave him comfort too. He was plagued by the inevitability that she would be returning to the leaf village with her Father once all of this was over. But he knew he shouldn't fight it- how could he take her away from Hatake when he only just got her back?

Shikamaru Nara was talking to Kankuro, with a dreamy-eyed looking Temari holding onto his arm. Obviously they confessed their feelings for one another, finally. Gaara shook his head when his brother laughed and clapped the shadow user on the back- _Kankuro will be taking full recognition for that I assume_...

Gaara's eyes then travelled to Lady Hinata who was blushing deep red, no doubt it has something to do with whatever Sakura is whispering in her ear and giggling about. He knew well enough from having a sister that he should stay clear of all women when they are gossiping. Gaara frowned slightly when his eyes skimmed around the room once more,_ How strange... I thought there was one more?_

"So what's the plan?"

Gaara jumped in his seat for the second time that afternoon. After he slowed his heart rate he glared over his shoulder to find the shinobi he was missing. Chouji was standing immediately behind him to his right, munching on what appeared to be a bag of potato chips- how he hadn't heard him he'd never know. The sand manipulator raised his eyebrow, "You better not get that all over the floor."

"Nah, no way," Chouji waved a hand at him. His cheerful nature reminding him a little of a certain blonde, "I make sure to get all of it. Too good to waste you know?"

"Hn," Gaara shrugged. "I suppose we should start discussing the plan now."

"Okay!" Chouji smiled and made his way around the desk to join Hinata and Sakura now that they seemed to be finished their girl talk.

Gaara sighed and rose to his feet. After clearing his throat to get everyone's attention he began filling them in on his ideas, "I think I know how to get Hoshi to bring Tsuki to us."

Hikari tilted her head to the side, "You mean like pretending to be interested in buying again- like you did with me?"

"Wait- what?" Kakashi choked and then glared at the Kazekage. "You _bought_ her?!"

Gaara went to explain but Hikari jumped in first, "Father please, Kenai only paid to set me free _after_ he recognized me."

Kakashi raised his eyebrows at his daughter, "Kenai?"

"Oh," She giggled. "I gave him a nickname a long time ago! I think it suits him much better than Gaara."

"You've met before?"

"Hai," she nodded. "Shortly after I was taken we were brought here to Suna, and I met Kenai. We only spoke for a few minutes..."

"I see," Kakashi looked over at the Kazekage while still speaking to his daughter. "You must have made quite the impression..."

Realizing the misunderstanding Gaara offered a few words, "Back then no one spoke to me willingly, the fact that she approached me at all is what left the impression, Hatake-san."

The copy-nin nodded, willing to drop it for now. Although the feelings the two of them shared were obvious, he didn't want to discuss it here.

Gaara straightened a piece of paper on his desk carefully before continuing, "I will arrange another meeting with Hoshi in specific regards to this..._weapon_ he mentioned last time he was here."

"This is with the assumption that he will be bringing Tsuki with him." Kakashi shook his head, "What if he doesn't?"

"It's part of his stupid sales technique," Kankuro grunted while folding his arms in front of him moodily. "_Put the product in the customer's hands_, so to speak."

"I agree with Kankuro on this one," Shikamaru stepped up too. "The kind of man Hoshi has to be, in his field of work, will be putting all bets on the Kazekage making the purchase- he'll have your son with him."

The silver haired shinobi gave a brief nod in acceptance. He trusted the boy's judgement on a mission, and he would trust him now too.

"And it is also s-safe to assume that he will b-bring Aomi and t-the child t-too," Hinata stuttered, looking at Sakura to finish for her.

"Hai," The pink haired Kunoichi agreed. "He will want to have his means of controlling Tsuki close by as well."

"So if we purchase Kakashi-sensei's son," Naruto leapt forward. "They will have to hand over Aomi and the kid too- so that Gaara would be able to control him!"

Everyone in the room turned to look at the enthusiastic blonde in surprise. Usually Naruto was the last one making sense of everything.

"What are you all looking at huh?" Naruto stomped his feet and pointed an angry finger. "I can be smart too!"

Sakura laughed and waved her hand dismissively , "Yeah, sure you can, Naruto!"

Hikari giggled as her father yanked back on Naruto's shirt collar to reign him in. It would seem as though her Father was treating the blonde exactly how he used to treat her and Tsuki. _Perhaps I will have two brother's now?_ She thought with a smile.

"So it's settled then," Gaara crossed his arms. "I will contact Hoshi in regards to Tsuki first thing in the morning. Now, get out of my office."

Every shinobi in the room appeared surprised at the Kazekage's demand, except for his siblings. Both Temari and Kankuro had ample experience with their younger brother's moods- currently, he was severally claustrophobic. They were the first to rush out of the room- Shikamaru being dragged behind them by his love interest.

"Let's go eat!" Naruto fist pumped the air and charged out of the room with Chouji and Asuma-sensei, whom both immediately agreed to join him.

"Oi, wait for me Naruto!" Sakura waved politely at Gaara before exiting shortly after. "It's good to see you, Kazekage-sama!"

Gaara nodded at the pink haired Kunoichi and then settled his gaze on Hikari, Hinata and Kakashi. After Hinata took notice of the intense stare between the copy-nin and the Kazekage, she took Hikari's hand and began to lead her from the room.

"Father...?" She pulled back briefly to see why her father wasn't joining her.

"I'll be right behind you," Kakashi promised without breaking eye contact with the sand manipulator. "Go with Lady Hinata, she can tell you what she knows about Tsuki."

Hikari frowned and looked to Gaara instead, she only had to stare for a second before his aquamarine eyes locked onto hers. His face may have seemed stoic to her father, but to her it was telling a story, and she took comfort in it. She smiled to let him know that she understood his reassurance that everything was fine, and followed the Hyuuga out the door. After the soft click of the knob slipping into place Gaara took his seat.

The silver-haired Jounin slowly approached the desk. He was grateful to the Kazekage for helping him get his children back, and he knew he had to tread carefully because- well- he's the _Kazekage. _However, he also just got his daughter back after twelve years. There was no way he was just going to let the Kazekage take her from him. Not now- not if he had a say in it.

* * *

**HIYA ALL! Hope you like it so far! please please please give feedback! it helps me stay motivated and know that its actually worth writing!**

**EC**


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